Furies of Calderon: The Codex Alera: Book One

For 1000 years, the people of Alera have united against the aggressive races that inhabit the world, using their unique bond with the furies - elementals of earth, air, fire, water and metal. But now, Gaius Sextus, First Lord of Alera, grows old and lacks an heir. Ambitious Lords manoeuvre to place their Houses in positions of power, and a war of succession looms on the horizon. Far from city politics in the Calderon Valley, young Tavi struggles with his lack of fury crafting.

The Aeronaut's Windlass: The Cinder Spires, Book 1

Since time immemorial the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace. Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy's shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels.

Storm Front: The Dresden Files, Book 1

A call from a distraught wife, and another from Lt Murphy of the Chicago PD Special Investigation Unit makes Harry believe things are looking up, but they are about to get worse, much worse. Someone is harnessing immense supernatural forces to commit a series of grisly murders. Someone has violated the first law of magic: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Tracking that someone takes Harry into the dangerous underbelly of Chicago, from mobsters.

Monster Hunter International

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

The Shadow of What Was Lost: The Licanius Trilogy, Book 1

It has been 20 years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs, once thought of almost as gods, were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs' fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion's Four Tenets.

Sufficiently Advanced Magic: Arcane Ascension, Book 1

Five years ago Corin Cadence's brother entered the Serpent Spire - a colossal tower with ever-shifting rooms, traps, and monsters. Those who survive the spire's trials return home with an attunement: a mark granting the bearer magical powers. According to legend, those few who reach the top of the tower will be granted a boon by the spire's goddess. He never returned. Now it's Corin's turn. He's headed to the top floor, on a mission to meet the goddess.

The Red Sea: The Cycle of Galand, Book 1

When Dante Galand was just a boy, his father, Larsin, sailed away to make his fortune. And never returned. Since then, Dante has become a great sorcerer. A ruler. A destroyer of kings. And he's just learned that his father is living on a forbidden island at the edge of the known world. Where he's dying of a mysterious plague. In the company of his friend, the swordsman Blays, Dante travels to the island. There, his magic can do nothing for his father.

Twinborn Trilogy Collection

Kyrus Hinterdale is about to get drawn into a conflict. His discovery that the world in his dreams is real, and that his twin within that world dreams of him, sets him off on a quest of self-discovery that could reshape two worlds. He is not alone with this special vision. Others like him had been at it far longer, working secret plots and stealing secrets from one world to take advantage in the other. Caught in the middle of an ancient conflict, Kyrus and his twin, Brannis, must discover who can be trusted, who must be watched, and who is out to kill them.

The Way of Kings: Book One of The Stormlight Archive

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor.

Eden's Gate: The Reborn: A LitRPG Adventure, Book 1

When Gunnar Long is transported into the first fully-immersive virtual MMORPG, he finds himself in a new world filled with magic, mystery, and adventure. No more 9-to-5 job. No more studio apartment. No more reality TV. Finally, he's in a place where he can call home, a place with people he can call friends. But as more people want to trade their real world lives to get inside Eden's Gate, the government of the outside world wants the "game" shut down at all costs.

Super Sales on Super Heroes

In a world full of super powers, Felix has a pretty crappy one. He has the ability to modify any item he owns. To upgrade anything. Sounds great on paper. Almost like a video game. Except that the amount of power it takes to actually change, modify, or upgrade anything worthwhile is beyond his abilities. With that in mind, Felix settled into a normal life. A normal job. His entire world changes when the city he lives in is taken over by a super villain. Becoming a country of one city. A city state.

Spellmonger: Spellmonger, Book 1

Minalan gave up a promising career as a professional warmage to live the quiet life of a village spellmonger in the remote mountain valley of Boval. It was a peaceful, beautiful little fief, far from the dangerous feudal petty squabbles of the Five Duchies, on the world of Callidore. There were cows. Lots of cows. And cheese. For six months things went well: He found a quaint little shop, he befriended the local lord, the village folk loved him, he found a sharp young apprentice to help out, and, best yet, he met a comely young widow with the prettiest eyes.

The Land: Founding: A LitRPG Saga: Chaos Seeds, Book 1

In The Land: Founding, the first volume of the award winning Chaos Seeds saga, demons and angels toy with the lives of unwitting humans. Gamers sign away their souls in unread contracts as they log online each day. One at a time, these people are stolen, mind and soul, into a world of magic and adventure that operates by the same laws as the game they worshiped at for years.

Age of Myth: Book One of The Legends of the First Empire

Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between humans and those they thought were gods changes forever. Now only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer. Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom. And Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people.

Ascend Online: Ascend Online, Book 1

Diving into a revolutionary new video game, Marcus and his friends escape a stagnant society, entering into a world that defies their wildest imaginations. But from the moment that he logs in, Marcus finds himself separated from his friends and thrown into a remote village under attack by a horde of goblins. Forced into battle, Marcus rallies the beleaguered villagers and, with their help, manages to drive off the invading creatures. With the village in ruins and their supplies spoiled, the villagers turn to Marcus for help in rebuilding the village.

Lion's Quest: Dual Wield

With Leo's commitment to Arnacript finalized, the champ announces his retirement to the world and prepares to work full-time on Ohlavar Quest. The challenges in the game world become steeper as Leo sets his eyes on the first of many artifacts, and he joins a dungeon exploration group in an effort to acquire the piece. But forces in the real world don't want the champ to retire from Astafar Unlimited, and they will do whatever it takes to get him back. Even if it means killing his parents.

Delvers LLC: Welcome to Ludus

Henry and Jason led normal lives in Seattle before they were abducted to another world. Their kidnapper, the vain, self-styled god Dolos, refuses to send them back unless they can accomplish an impossible task. Oddly, Dolos doesn't seem to care if they succeed or not. Luckily, Henry and Jason studied Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) on Earth. Unfortunately, a Japanese American EMT and a geeky IT programmer don't have many other useful skills on a sword-and-sorcery world like Ludus.

Besieged

The ancient gods are alive and well in the modern world in this hilarious, action-packed collection of original short stories featuring Atticus O'Sullivan, the handsome, tattooed, 2,000-year-old Irishman with extraordinary magic powers from Kevin Hearne's New York Times best-selling Iron Druid Chronicles.

Publisher's Summary

The power-hungry High Lord of Kalare has launched a rebellion against the aging First Lord, Gaius Sextus, who with the loyal forces of Alera must fight beside the unlikeliest of allies - the equally contentious High Lord of Aquitaine. Meanwhile, young Tavi of Calderon joins a newly formed legion under an assumed name even as the ruthless Kalare unites with the Canim, bestial enemies of the realm whose vast numbers spell certain doom for Alera. When treachery from within destroys the army's command structure, Tavi finds himself leading an inexperienced, poorly equipped legion - the only force standing between the Canim horde and the war-torn realm.

The larger story arc of the series so far is wonderfully fascinating and intriguing. I have enjoyed following the main characters' arcs through the story. It is a bit black and white in some ways with the Very Bad being Very Bad and the Very Good... well, you get it, but there are a lot of grey areas and characters (Lady Placida is fantastic!) The story involving Fade and Isanna is beautifully written; Lady Aquitaine (et al) is fascinating...

My biggest problem with how the series is developing - and it's a major issue for me, is that at least 1/3 of the book is taken up with battle tactics during the war which seem much like a fantasy version of a History Channel documentary. Hours and hours are spent in detailed battle plans and execution. Nothing there there, just details of swords/arrows/spears/etc. While I can see how probably many fantasy fans find this exciting, to me, it became extremely tedious. Every battle or development in the war, over time, started to sound exactly the same in every respect. There's absolutely nothing creative or of interest for me in this kind of war documentary. To quote from the book: "And the battle went on, and on. And on." And it does.

Jim Butcher remains a favorite author of mine, but I'm not sure that I'll continue on with this Alera series, just because of these endless, tedious battle-upon-battle scenarios.

Last word: I sincerely wish that there was more actual story and development here. Mr. Butcher's creative imagination is strong, unique and wonderful. If you love battle scenes, you have a lot to love in this book.

This review applies to the series. Normally, I listen to sci-fi and decided to give this fantasy series a try because of the high ratings the books got at Amazon, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The characters are excellent, the plot good, etc. The first book takes a little getting use to the new concept of furies and the author doesn't really try to explain how one gets these furies powers. (This probably explains some of the poor reviews on the 1st book) He does implied that it is genetic, but how many people in today's society really understand genetics? Who's ya daddy! The sixth book of this series is due out in November and I looking forward to it.
Kate Reading does one of the best jobs of narration in this series that I've heard anywhere! If you like a narration performance, you'll like this one. Lots of blood and guts, but very, very few 4-ltr words, if you dont count CROWs; - this series swear word.
Audible needs to cross-reference these audio books with the book reviews in Amazon, their parent company (I believe). This is especially true where there are few or no reviews on the book. Just a note about my high 5-star ratings - I usually only rate books that I really enjoy, hence high ratings in all my rating history. Hope this helps!

First let me say, I don't do reviews and am not a "staff writer" of which I suspect are the source of some reviews. Just my opinion. :-)In either case, I just love this series. The characters, the storyline, etc. I've done the Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind series. Good but not great. More soap opera than not. Always got the feeling it was written with a "string 'em along" publisher's attitude in mind. The Codex series is just a great series. The characters are kept to a manageable number and are very engaging. Jim Butcher's style is addicting. Yes, the good guy wins, but it's the way they win. Leaves you breathless. Books 1 and 2 are, for me, simply captivating. I'm finishing up on book 3. and it's a nail biter to say the least. Likely I'll do them all.

After reading the two preceding books, I Still can not figure out what the deal is with the horns. I can live with them, I just don't understand their purpose. I love this series and though it took me a while to snuggle in with all the characters, I feel as close to them now as I do with Jamie and Claire of the Outlander series. I'm glad I stuck with this one. The only reason it didn't get a five star rating was because of the excessive battle descriptions which I consider a cop out for book filler. He's got a better writers brain and shouldn't be stooping to such silly tactics.

Very well done. I am enjoying this series.more with each book. I am glad I continued with the second then third book. But the but I still have, and I may be very wrong to ask this rhetorical question; what butt decided to throw in such a rash and discordant noise as those trumpets? My two girls, both Siamese, get a look on their faces that is pure distain when, without a reason I can puzzle out, the noise is thrown in. .

This series is getting better and better..... Tavi keeps on growing up and learning and gaining more responsibilities.. He becomes an important tool to the first lord and gets to be in interesting places. I do enjoy how the characters develop in this series and the gap of few years between books to allow the character to develop and grow in a reasonable pace.

I thought the previous book was an eventful one, but its nothing comparing to this book's events. Oh how so many things... So many secrets and so many OH moments... And the ending was a really really good one. Will start listening to the next book really soon,.. So excited

By the way, I do like the narrator, Kate Reading is a really gifted narrator and the voices of the characters change with the years.. Tavi's voice is not the same way it was in the first book, it does sound right for the age he is in.. Fantastic job.

Superb narration, but what's with the trumpeting fanfare? These loud annoying trumpets interrupt the story at multiple points throughout the book. Grrr.

Nonetheless, this is a fun, fast-paced, and (mostly) feel-good story. It's alternative history of a fantastical nature. Roman history. The mysteriously missing Ninth Legion. Far from England and Hadrian's Wall, this book is set on a planet called Carna, on the West Coast of Alera, on the River Gaul, at the Elinarch Bridge.

Newly graduated from the Imperial Academy as a cursor, Tavi (Octavian) continues to outgrow his uniforms while learning the military life of a Roman Legionnaire, Alera-style. Because Tavi still cannot employ fury-power (making him the only fury-less freak in the Empire), he must rely on his wits, instincts, and friendships. Bringing a flavor of historical Rome to this fantastical setting, Tavi also relies on his readings of ancient texts, where he gained knowledge of old "Romantic" siege weapons, battle-tactics, and fire-starting methods. I enjoyed Butcher's integration of old Rome into the novel, including the catapult weapon Tavi called a "mule" for its bucking kick-back motion (also called an onager).

Some of Tavi's old friends from the Academy play secondary roles, including Max and Ehren, as does his girl, the resourceful Katai. We also meet Cassus Antillus, half-brother to Max.

We also meet more Canim wolf-warriors, including War-master Nasaug, the son of Ambassador Vaug from the prequel, and Sarl, a nasty ritualist employing dark blood magic.

Butcher writes well, but he needs to consult a thesaurus. Does every grin have to be "wolfish" or could we please try for some nuance?

The books in this series are shaping up to mark individual, chapters, or episodes in the development of Tavi of Calderon. The titles, beginning with book 2, pretty much lay that out. This installment has lots of spycraft and a big battle at the end. I think what I enjoy most is that the main character uses his wits to get himself in and out of trouble. In his world, he is basically handicapped. That doesn't even come close to stopping him though. He experiences the humiliation of not being able to do what everyone else can, but he is also not bound by their blinkered thinking and limitations. Tavi is a great character for perseverance and cleverness. He is a well-crafted character.

I am not going to go on about the reading and the horns as I did in my reviews in the previous two books. It is enough to say that Reading's characterizations are solid and her pacing is good. There seem to be some editing flubs where one word runs right into another, but other than that, pretty clean.

I absolutely love my audible account, makes its from enjoying a book to loving the stories found in the books.
Do forgive my errors in the reviews i do have dyslexia but i will share my love with everyone

the emperor has sent tavi his commission he is to be a low ranking officer in the army. and they are placed out of the way of the impending war. a high lord rebels and enemies of the empire unite to defeat him.

at the same time Bernard is again needed to help the empire with his secret wife take septimus to the city. but septimus can not use magic. while the high lord is fighting the rebels a enemy force lands on the coast making Tavi the only defense for the empire

Butcher again has secrets to show you as you read the books. but most of them you can figure out before the secret is reviled. but with his skill he plays some misdirection making people see the secrets he wants you to see while hiding others.

I loved the action in this book. It was constant and awesome. I enjoy how the story developed and then wrapped up. He has a way to "finish" a conflict while carrying others on. It was very entertaining to read.